Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-03-19
AGRICULTURAL.
SUGGESTIONS AND EXPERIENCES
OF INTEREST.
Treatment of Vines with Manure and
with Sulphur-Fig Production
Goblin Moth Remedy-Etc.

As far as maauring is concerned, any
land that is rich enough to bear forty BUSH
els of corn to the acre is rich enough to
grow grapes. As far as my own course is
concerned, l have not used manure afler
planting. have used applications some
times of bone and ashes, and sometimes of
bone and potash salts, with occasional
plaster mixed with it, because the grape
requires more or less sulphur in the soil;
the plaster of paris Is the cheapest way you
can get it. 1t is sulphate of lime, and does
not cost much. You can buy a ton for five
or six dollars, and it is as good an applica-
ton for that purpose as anything that l
know Of The reason why you don't want
TO apply animal manure largely to your
grapes is that it induces a rank, coarse
growth of wood and foliage, which is I'M
favorable to the production OF fruit. You
want fair, moderate growth of wood, and
that is all. You want medium-sized
wood. The cane should be about the size
of your little finger, and it will bear larger
punches and more of them than if 1t is
three times as large. You want to have
them we'll ripened. Stimulating the vine
by animal manure makes it grow until late
in the fall, and the food will not ripen as
well. The fruit buds do not thoroughly
develop until the wood is partially ripe |
think YOU can make a much stronger fruit
bud by moderate manuring than if you put
too much animal manure"
GOBLIN MOTH EXPERIMENTS.
The State Entomologist of Illinois, DR.. S.
A Forbes, has recently instituted series
of bulletins for the purpose of presenting
to the public interested the most important
results of the economic work of the Office
more promptly than is possible if their
publication is limited to the biennial re-
ports now authorized by law They will
be issued at regular intervals, each num-
Der confined to single subject, and con-
tanning either a report OF recent original
work, or a special discussion of some ento-
biological topic of peculiar agricultural IN
terest at the time"
The first of this series treats of the arsen-
ical poisons for the Goblin moth, being a
record and discussion OF the experiments
made during 1885 and 1886, and already re-
ferred to in these columns. But the general
conclusion reached, on account of its
great importance to the ofchardist, is worth
repeating 1t is that 1.-The results of once
or twice spraying with Paris green, in early
spring, before the young apples had dropped
on their stems, resulted in saving of about
rs per cent. of the apples exposed to injury
by the Goblin moth"
BEST WAY TO APPLY POULTRY MANURE.
If every farmer, and every keeper of
fowls, even on a city lot, only knew how
valuable poultry droppings really are, not a
handful of them would ever be allowed to
go to waste A single tablespoonful where
needed will make a thrifty hill of corn,
where, without it there might be only a
81 oil
Voelcker, of the Royal Agricultural So
ciety of England, advises as the least ex-
pense and best way of using poultry man
ure to mix it with dry EARTH and the like
into compost. Mixed with about twice
the quantity of dry, earthly matters of this
kind, it will soon be reduced into fairly
dry and powdery state, in which it may be
readily sown broadcast or with the drill,
and found useful in growing any kind of
garden vegetables. For root crops, such as
turnips, carrots and mangels, it is advised
that poultry manure be mixed, after re-
dueing to a powdery state, with an equal
weight of superphosphates and the mixture
drilled in at the rate of 500 pounds to the
acre. In making poultry manure into
compost with earth, Prof Voelcker warns
against mixing quicklime with it, as the eff
feet would be to liberate the ammonia the
most of which would escape and be lost
On the other hand he recommends as pos
tive advantage mixing SCOT with this COM
post. In the absence of SCOT, the next best
thing, in his opinion, is to mix in burnt
plaster to which small quantity of super
phosphate is added, the free acid of which
will eventually prevent the escape of am
monia. A mixture of two parts burnt
plaster and one part superphosphate may
be kept in readiness TO mix with the fresh
chicken droppings for the purpose of alb
sorbing the excess of moisture and thus IA
cilitate its being reduced to dry and friable
nature. Three parts of fresh chicken man.
ure and one part of the preceding mixture
of burnt plaster and superphosphate, if
kept under cover for a few days and
turned once or twice during the time, and
then passed through a screen or sieve, will
be found to be more efficacious when ap-
piled at the rate of from 600 to 800 pounds |
to the acre.-Prdcticdl Farmer.
CALIFORNIA FIGS, sUN-DRIED.
We note considerable increase in the |
product this year, and which is of better !
quality and better packing. Wherever }
these figs are thoroughly introduced we !
always note an increase of orders. Outside |
of the fact of their being of purple color,
they are equal in flavor to the imported |
figs. Nothing is against them but the |
ually winning their way in different parts
of the country, and we look to see the time
when California purple fig will take its
place in the markets of the country the
same as the Smyrna figs of to-day. Ii is a
tree that, planted in certain sections of !
California, produces abundantiy, and even
at the low prices now ruling, pays the
grower about as well as any other fruit that
we know of, as scarcely any care Is needed, /
and the fruit is GENERALLY allowed to ripen
on tie tree and drop off. Then it is gener
ally picked up, packed into boxes or sacks, |
and shipped to market. All the expenses
that are attendant upon the preparations of |
other dried fruits are not required by the |
fig. We are also producing here, but in |
very small quantities as yet the California |
white figs, from imported stock. This fig, |
samples of which we have seen, is equal or |
superior to the best goods from Turkey. = |
Grocer and Country Merchant.
sULPHURINe VINES.
Henry Wiel, of Glenwood, Santa Cruz |
county, writing to the Rural Press, says |
concerning his experience on this subject |
I find that sulphuring can hardly be done |
too soon, particularly in localities where
the vines are subject to the disease. COM
mence when the shoots are but an inch or
two long and when many of them are but
Just starting. At this early stage but little
sulphur is required, and, with me, las
proved very effectual preventive of dis
ease It also has the effect of destroying
small black borer which makes its appear
ance at about that time and does considera-
bic damage if let alone
The second sulphuring is applied by me
when the vines are in bloom. These two
sulphurings, if well done, and good arti-
Gle of sulphur employed, are sufficient to
check mildew. There may appear few
isolated cases of sickly vines later in the
season, but with care they also can be
cured.
The different qualities Of sulphur have
also been discussed in yolr paper. We
have tried them all, and I, for one, am con-
WINGED that there is no economy in using
any but the best. Last year l used Bel
gian sulphur. branded Koch & Refs, which
can be found probably at any wholesale